Take Me, Tom Pt. 73-74 by Boo96,Boo96

by

“Why, Tom? Why me? Do you know how hopelessly in love I am with you both? I’m…I’m scared, Tom,” she sobbed. “This can’t last, can it? I mean, it’s NOT supposed to be this way. I’ve…I’ve never…” and she cried.

“Shhh, darling. C’mon. Hold me. Hold me tight,” I whispered, and kissed her damp hair. “We’re all taking a chance here, right? But isn’t anyone who falls in love, hmm? How? Why? Fuck knows, Emily. It just is, that’s all I know. We do this day by day, talk, be honest, and hope that any changes we go through, and we will, we do it together. I’d rather take a chance on us, and have my heart devastated, than not have experienced this. That’s it in a nutshell for me, I guess,” I tried to explain.

“And you both really want…me?” she asked, hesitantly.

“Emily! If I hear those words for you one more time, I’ll spank you! And it won’t be the nice type this time!” I chuckled. “This is happening because of ALL of us. Right place, right time? Destiny? Call it what you will, if you need to, but just know that we’re here. Together,” I whispered. “Now? Shower? I’ll try and behave,” I laughed.

“Unfortunately, I hope you do…this time,” she smiled, and smothered my face with her kisses.

We slipped from the bed, and ran a slow shower, interrupted ten minutes later by Chrissie popping her head in and announcing, “Breakfast is ready, you tarts!” Emily held up her middle finger and laughed.

I turned the shower off, and held this sweetest of women in my arms. Emily looked up at me, and whispered, “Forever? Really?”

“Forever, Emily,” I smiled.

We quickly threw our robes on and met everyone in the kitchen. Chrissie had prepared countless breakfast wraps, filled with veggies and eggs with a side of baked sweet potatoes. I kissed and ruffled the kids’ hair, checking how they had slept. Chloe wanted to go out and try her camera, looking at Emily expectantly. Emily and I wrapped our arms around Chrissie, and kissed her.

“Get out, creeps!” she laughed. “Eat. Now! Grammie and Gramps will be here around twelve, Chloe. Maybe Emily can take us out afterwards?” she said, giving Emily a wondering look.

With trepidation, we all watched the clock. The kids were in their rooms, the kitchen sorted, so we waited. I caught up with some paperwork, but my head wasn’t really in it.

“What if they don’t understand, hmm? What if they disown us this time? Do you think this is a step too far for them?” Emily asked us.

“For me, well, they have to accept it. We’re not asking their permission, so we’re doing this, either way. We’ll be as gentle as possible, Emily, all right?” I answered.

“I hope so, Tom. It’ll be tough for them, as it would be for me. God, what a mess,” she sighed.

“Em, it really isn’t. It’s what kids do when parents have raised them properly. It’s a double-edged thing. I want David and Chloe to grow up secure, self-assured, and confident. It’ll kill me if they move away, but I’ll understand, well, after plenty of tears and few tantrums!” she giggled. “The house is going on the market tomorrow, so there’s no turning back now!” she smiled.

Chrissie and Emily had prepared some tuna steaks and salad for our lunch, with plenty of G&Ts to loosen the atmosphere.

We heard a knock on the door at precisely twelve. Go figure. Chrissie let them in, and hugged, and kissed both of them. I hugged mom, and heartily shook dad’s hand. Emily warmly embraced them both, although they were surprised to see her here. We sat inside, as it was a bit chilly still to enjoy the backyard. We caught up with the generic things, keeping things light ’til dessert.

Emily poured a few more drinks afterwards, the kids off again.

“What’s up, you two” dad smirked. There we go. Straight out with it.

Chrissie was all set to begin, but I took her hand, and squeezed it.

“Everything’s good, dad. Really, it is,” I started. “So. I have been offered a position… back in London,” I said, calmly. “We’re all moving…in June,” I said, their faces drooping. “We have thought this through, and feel it’s best for all of us, not you, obviously, but with everything that has happened between Chrissie and me, this comes at a good time.”

The first thing Claire said was to Emily. “So, Emily. You…know about…the two of them?” she asked.

“I do, Claire. I’ve known for a while. It’s unusual, yes, but they work so well together. They truly were meant to be with each other,” she explained.

“I half expected this,” dad said. “Your lives certainly are upside down, aren’t they?” he asked.

“Actually, dad, our lives are better than ever,” Chrissie said, defending us. “We’ll miss you, the kids will miss you, but we need to do this. To start over. We both have these amazing opportunities waiting for us. We’re doing this for all of us, okay, not just Tom’s job. I…I have a new job, too,” Chrissie said, stuttering somewhat.

“What? Where, Chrissie?” mom asked.

“At the V&A, mom. I’ve been offered a curating position at the V&A. Emily’s coming with us, too. She’ll be an assistant like she is here, and there’ll be room for her to learn, and expand her role. I love London, mom. The kids will thrive over there. We can come back for visits, all right? Whenever you like, you can come to us,” she tried to explain.

“This is all down to you, isn’t it, Tom? Why…how can you take David and Chloe from us. We’ll…we’ll never see them,” mom said, and began to cry.

“Mom! It’s NOT down to Tom, okay. It’s ALL of our decision. I want this. Tom wants this. Emily wants this. This is for us, and our future. Don’t you dare blame Tom! That’s NOT fair!” she said, a bit too harshly. “We’re doing what’s right for us all. I’m hoping you can understand that.”

“Hey? Can we all just take a deep breath here?” I asked. “We’ve thought this through, understand? It works…for us. You’ve always…always encouraged us to find our way, haven’t you? Well, this IS our way. We need to do this. You know we’ll miss you, but as Chrissie said, our door is always open, okay?” I tried to explain.

Mom looked at us, sad and forlorn. “What did we ever do wrong? Why are you this way? I…I just cannot understand this! First…first you have this…relationship, and now you’re taking OUR grandchildren away from us! Ohh, Fred, this is too…” she tried to say. “You’re breaking our hearts…again! You do know that?”

Fuck! This is NOT the way I had it working out in my head. Dad was silent, torn between his wife, and kids. I didn’t envy him.

“Emily? You actually agree with this? You condone this?” mom nearly spat out.

“Claire. Please,” she said, and grabbed mom’s hand. “I cannot even imagine what it’s like for you both, all right, but they do need to live their own lives. You and Fred have given them the confidence to do the things they do. Take that as a compliment, please. Can you even imagine what these two go through daily? The stress it is for them knowing that they could be ostracised if anyone ever found out? I…I think they’re brave…and beautiful,” she sighed, and smiled at us.

“Dad?” I asked, putting him on the spot now.

“Sorry, kids. I need to support your mother on this one. For me, it’s a step too far. Tom, it was a struggle enough to come to terms with your first, uh, revelation. Now this? Your mother always wished for more grandchildren, and you took that away from her. Now you’re moving thousands of miles away with David and Chloe? If you need our blessings, well, I don’t think that’ll happen. You do what you have to do, though. You both always have, so,” he said, clearly disappointed in us.

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